Playing the Villain

In LARP you play roles, sometimes these are just people. Neither good nor bad. Just people trying to get along in their situation. Every now and then though the Gods of gaming throw you something special. They ask you to play an out and out villain. A thoroughly bad man, someone you would pray you never met in a dark alleyway.

So how do you play a villain?

This is a set of 5 simple guidelines for playing the man in the black hat. An in your face villain. Not a subtle character to be sure. Yet one that if it is done right will lift any scene. Play it badly though and the game can stutter and stall.

1) Be Sure

A true blue evil doer is not limited by doubt or reflection on what they are doing They are right! Period! Be sure and never show doubt in what you are doing.

2) Know your Story

If you have no doubt then you know why you are where you are and what the outcome will be. For any character understanding your background is important. For a villain it is vital. You cannot act without doubt and not know where you came from.

3) Have an M.O.

All great villains have a preferred way of doing things. Decide in advance how to treat people, how to hurt people, how to torture, how to intimidate and how to act. Rehearse and learn these in advance. Be able to act in accordance with your character in an instant.

4) Do the unthinkable

Its important for a villain to be able to shock and awe the players. It is vital that players fear your character. One easy answer to this problem is to find something to do that will shock the players to the core. What this is will depend on the game but it is important to plan this in and do this.

5) Don’t be dominated.

This is fairly straightforward. Players will challenge you. They will try and feel superior to you. A cocky player might be tempted to humiliate you. As a villain you cannot allow this. Before the game starts have a strategy in mind for dealing with this- and if that fails refer to point 4. Stun the players with something they could not expect.

Of course all of this is for an extreme case of a villain, but if you do get the place to do one of these don’t waste the opportunity. Playing truly evil is a great experience.